Exonerated
by lynco9228
Summary: My take on the museum scene from "The Unusual Suspects".


It was Charles who first discovered Exonerated, stumbling across the hit podcast while looking for something new to listen to on his daily run. He'd started exercising on a daily basis, now that he finally had time to. A fringe benefit of unemployment, he thought wryly, as he pounded out steps on the Central Park running trails. He'd gotten hooked on the story of Audrey Colbert, a young woman accused of murdering a couple she allegedly met in a hotel room for a threesome. It was a dramatic story with a sexy flair to it.

Liza had teased him that evening when he described the story over dinner, but quickly changed her tune after listening to the first episode. And so began their weekly ritual. Thursday nights, after dinner, or after the girls were tucked into bed, they would curl up on the couch, or in bed, with glasses of wine, and listen to the horrifically mesmerizing story.

Episode 6 had been particularly salacious, subsequently resulting in a particularly steamy evening behind the closed door of Charles' bedroom. It was the next day, on his morning run, that Charles came up with what he thought was a brilliant idea.

It was late Saturday evening when Liza spotted the envelope tucked into the well worn copy of A Moveable Feast that held a permanent place on her nightstand. She smiled as she recognized the familiar handwriting, her name scrawled lazily across the envelope. They had planned on going out for a dinner date, as Pauline had the girls, but she had called Saturday morning and asked him to take the girls for a few hours. Liza suspected she had a date, but decided not to bring it up with Charles. So he was taking Nicole and Bianca on a daddy-daughter date, and Liza was spending her evening at the loft with a bottle of sauvignon blanc and a pile of laundry that desperately needed folding.

Smiling, she tore open the envelope carefully as to not damage the contents. Inside the envelope was a single sheet of paper and a ticket to the Rubin Museum.

_Sunday Morning. Tibetan Art Exhibit. Come find me. I'll let you know when. – C. _

Liza smiled mischievously and leaned back against the stack of freshly folded laundry. She was pretty sure she knew what this was about. They had listened to the newest episode of Exonerated on late Thursday night, curled up in bed together. It had gone into rather explicit detail about the first encounter between the male murder victim and Audrey Colbert, leaving no detail out. At the end of the hour they had turned to each other, both flushed, their bodies stirring. She could feel the heat pool in her stomach again as she remembered how Charles had pulled the headphones out of their ears and tossed the iPad aside before turning to her and claiming her mouth, and her body, as his. Her limbs were still a little sore. Charles Brooks was a little bit kinky, and she loved it.

The next morning she fidgeted through brunch, trying to distract herself with beautiful bouncing Gemma. She was head over heels in love with that baby, and it made her heart happy to see Josh and Clare working so well together as parents. She hadn't really talked to him about the situation since before Gemma's exciting entrance into the world, but she hoped they could work things out. She was happy in love with Charles, and she wanted the same for Josh.

Of course, Lauren had sat down babbling about her addiction to Exonerated, which sent Liza's jitters into high gear. She just about jumped out of her skin when her phone vibrated loudly on the table 15 minutes into brunch. Her heart flipped as she saw the text from Charles.

_Come find me._

She scrambled from the table, downing the last of her coffee and grabbing her jacket, making up a weak excuse about having "a thing to do." She caught Maggie winking at her from her spot at the end of the table. She'd filled her in on her suspicions about the secret rendezvous and Maggie had applauded Charles' plan. She loved that they were slowly becoming friends, and couldn't wait for them to spend more time together.

Charles wandered slowly through the Tibetan art exhibit, relistening to the most recent episode of Exonerated as he waited for Liza to appear. Pausing to look at a glass enclosed sculpture he caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself as he felt a hand brush up against his back. He caught a flash of a checkered jacket disappearing around a corner and he stood straighter, heading in the same direction.

They continued this little dance for a few moments, each of them moving slowly but stealthily through the exhibit, catching quick glimpses of each other around corners. Charles could feel his excitement grown and he picked up the pace, almost catching her as he turned a corner and saw her retreating back go down a near empty hallway. Jogging down the hall, he turned the corner, only to see the doors to a utility closet. Shaking his head, amused, he turned, and there she was, smiling up at him, her eyes dark.

His breath hitched as she reached up and pulled the headphones out of his ears, pocketing them in her coat. The air around them almost crackled with electricity and Charles smirked at her, his eyes taking in her tantalizing smile. Liza leaned in, almost imperceptibly, and he reached down and pulled her into a searing kiss.

As Charles wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss Liza seized his upper arms and together they stumbled back into the darkened alcove outside the utility closet. Charles felt his body stir as his back hit the wall and Liza pressed her body closer to his. He groaned as she pulled away slightly but she shook her head and pulled him towards her as she backed into the closet door and it swung open, and together they stumbled inside.

They stepped apart for the briefest moment and in that second, Liza pushed him away playfully, into the cinderblock wall. Charles could feel the cool brick against his neck, a stark contrast to the heat emanating from their intertwined bodies. One hand wrapped around Liza's hip and the other was in her hair as they kissed, as she nipped at his lower lip while her hand slipped between them to undo his belt buckle. Growling, he braced a hand on either side of her waist and spun them around so that she was pressed against the wall. He pushed against her, pushing her flush against the wall, letting his lips trace a torturous path from her mouth to her ear to her collarbone. They pushed each other's jackets off of their shoulders, kicking them aside. Charles pulled Liza's sweater over her head, tossing it onto a nearby box as he lowered his head to her chest, nipping at the tender skin through her lacy black bra. He heard her moan quietly and stood back up to capture her mouth with his, kissing her tenderly as he unbuttoned her tight blue jeans and pushed them down past her hips. She moaned again and bucked up against him, but he just chuckled through the kiss and let his hands roam her body as she pulled his sweater up over his head and shoved his pants and briefs down simultaneously

She gasped as she felt how ready he was for her and he nipped at her lower lip, holding it with his teeth as he pushed against her, teasing. He reached down with one hand, testing her readiness for him as the other closed around the side of her neck. When he felt how ready she was for him, how she parted her legs a little wider when his hand grazed over her sensitive skin, he growled deep in his throat. He wasn't going to last very long, but he really didn't give a damn. Not now. Liza knew she could get him to slow down if she wanted to, but she didn't. This wasn't a slow, sensual night in bed. This was primal, this was about dominance, and it was hot as fuck. Maybe because it was just such a different side of him than the buttoned up CEO, but the sight of Charles like this was lighting a fire in her that she didn't even know needed to be lit.

She cried out as he pushed into her hard, not waiting for her body to adjust to him before he started to move against her. He slid one hand down and lifted her leg around his hips as he pushed into her again and again. She met him, thrust for thrust, her arm wrapped around his shoulder for support, her nails digging into the skin on his back. It stung, but it felt good, and it drove his frenzy to a new level. He held his mouth against hers as he brought them over the edge, her breathing uneven as she felt every nerve in her body explode with pleasure.

He held them there for a moment before pulling away, resting his head against hers, their breathing heavy and ragged. Charles closed his eyes for a moment and felt her leg slip from his grasp and she pushed back against him. He watched from the corner of his eye as she bent down and pulled her jeans back up over her hips. He did the same, smiling at her as he caught her eye. He reached over and handed her the sweater he had tossed aside, watching as she slipped it on and tried to smooth down her mussed hair.

Liza opened her mouth to say something to him but he leaned down and cut her off with a light kiss. Shrugging his jacket on he smiled at her, reaching down to take her hand in his as he pulled open the door. The hallway was empty, and the two stepped back out into the exhibit, assuming the roles of innocent museum visitors, Liza smiling innocently at a passing docent who rounded the corner as the door to the closet swung shut. It would be their little secret, and damn, she loved every minute of it.


End file.
